The Senegalese roster featured four returning Olympians from London 2012; among them were French-born épée fencer Alexandre Bouzaid, hammer thrower Amy Sene, judoka Hortense Diédhiou, who became the nation's first female athlete to compete in four Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, freestyle wrestler Isabelle Sambou, who narrowly missed out the nation's first medal in twenty-four years, led the delegation as the most successful athlete of the previous Games and as Senegal's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.

[6] Senegal has qualified one canoeist in the men's C-1 class by obtaining a top finish and an outright Olympic berth at the 2015 African Canoe Slalom Championships in Sagana, Kenya.

Three-time Olympian Hortense Diédhiou earned a continental quota spot from the African region, as the highest-ranked Senegalese judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.

Balla Dièye secured a spot in the men's lightweight category (68 kg) by virtue of his top two finish at the 2016 African Qualification Tournament in Agadir, Morocco.